Thursday 18 April 2019, 15:04

Ten things we learned from the FIFA eNations Cup 

  • France won inaugural FIFA eNations Cup

  • Two entertaining days packed with excitement, drama and goals

  • Ten things we learned from the tournament in London

The dust has settled on an historic FIFA eNations Cup™ 2019 where France came away with the inaugural title. Represented by playing duo ‘Maestro’ and ‘DaXe’ in London, Les Bleus can now lay claim to being the best national team in virtual football as well as on the field after last year’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ heroics.

Two entertaining days packed with excitement, drama and goals - in both 1v1 and 2v2 format - unfolded as players represented their country in an official capacity for the first time. FIFA.com runs the rule over an action-packed two days in London with ten thing we learned.

1) France: the best national team on EA SPORTS FIFA 19

Twenty countries from six confederations gathered in London. Come end of play, one remained. ‘Maestro’ and ‘DaXe’ took the title for France across the English Channel and will go down in history as the inaugural winners of the tournament.

2) National pride goes to another level in eFootball

While eFootballers may have felt they were representing their country on the global stage before, the eNations Cup made it official. With the backing of Member Associations, players competed in national team attire and also stood for the national anthem before matches in the latter stages of the knockouts. It added a whole new dynamic to the world of competitive eFootball.

3) Argentina not just reliant on 'Nicolas99fc'

Many thought Argentina would be carried purely by ‘Nicolas99fc’ ahead of the tournament. While the PlayStation No1 naturally proved to be an important player, world No27 ‘Yagocai’ showed why he had earned his place in the national team. The Independiente man pulled off a number of extremely impressive results, including getting the better of Xbox No1 ‘F2Tekkz’ and Denmark’s ‘Ustun’ in the 1v1 knockout games en route to the final. The fact ‘Yagocai’ wasn’t playing on his preferred console made his showing all the more remarkable.

4) South Americans impress in London

Finalists Argentina were not the only South American outfit to impress at the eNations Cup 2019. Brazil showed why they were a force to be reckoned with by finishing top of the ultra-competitive Group C – eliminating one of the pre-tournament favourites in Germany as early as the opening day. ‘Ebinhob’ and ‘Tore’ even got the better of Argentina in the mouth-watering clash between the South American heavyweights. They bowed out at the quarter-finals at the hands of eventual winners France.

5) Germany, Saudi Arabia falter

Germany and Saudi Arabia were among some of the pre-tournament favourites but exited at the group stage despite both teams boasting some of the world’s leading players. Germany, arguably the most difficult side to clinch a national team place for, with the most players in the current top ten, were surprisingly eliminated in Group C on day one. Saudi Arabia, who had FIFA eWorld Cup™ champion ‘MsDossary7’ in their ranks, were unable to progress from Group A after failing to beat Finland in their 1v1s in round five.

6) Tantalising 2v2 affairs add to excitement

The eNations Cup produced many enticing 2v2 match-ups, as well as the traditional 1v1 affairs, adding to the drama over an action-packed two days. Pairs teaming up together to represent their country added an interesting dynamic and produced some classic match-ups with plenty of drama.

7) High stakes result in emotional scenes

With competitors playing for national pride and glory, the stakes were naturally high. It therefore produced moments of ecstasy when late winners were scored to secure dramatic victories, as demonstrated by Portugal pair ‘Tuga810_’ and ‘RastaArtur’ in their Group D meeting with Australia.

8) Less established nations impress

Compared to their opponents, Finland and Russia entered with relatively low profiles. They left with the new-found respect of others. Finland pair ‘Sn1pguy’ and ‘MakezCR’ pulled off valiant draws in the 1v1s against Saudi Arabia’s ‘The Royal’ and ‘MsDossary’, while Russia’s ‘Klenoff’ and ‘Ufenok77’ missed out on the knockout rounds by just one point in Group D.

9) England, Denmark scoring kings

England and Denmark showed their scoring prowess by finishing the tournament with 35 goals each – the most of anyone at the tournament. England’s ‘F2Tekkz’ and ‘FUTWIZTom’ also had the highest goal difference: a whopping +21 before bowing out at the quarter-finals at the hands of Argentina.

10) You can never have enough goals!

A staggering 467 goals were scored over two days at the eNations Cup – and a number of them were outrageously good! Take a look at some of the best from the final day in London below.